The Slope of Kongwa Hill: A Boy's Tale of Africa

Kongwa, in central Tanganyika (now Tanzania) had been the central location for the post-World War II British government's, 30-million-acre Groundnut Scheme. With its failure, a village of tin roofed and white ant infested abandoned shacks, devoid of water-born sanitation, became available - suited, it was decided by the Tanganyika legislature - to temporarily locate a co-ed secondary school for European children. Kongwa School was unique in Africa: it catered to 400 students in an arid outback region, home to the Wagogo tribe, but otherwise essentially undeveloped.

Based on the memoirs of Tony Edwards, this novel picks up his story when, at age 9, as a result of his parents moving to East Africa, Tony finds himself bound for Kongwa School in January of 1952. Located just south of the Maasai Steppe where was to be found every manner of game, exotic bird life, insects and reptiles, Kongwa provided a harsh if adventure-filled location in which to be educated and grow.

The Slope of Kongwa Hill is a fascinating account of the journey of a sensitive young boy to a bolder young man. The story recalls the toughness, discipline, sometimes the brutality of British boarding school life, aggravated by the primitive location and its concurrence with the ever-present danger from living in East Africa's bundu. Fights and beatings contrast with the excitement of animal and reptile confrontations, torrential storms, locust infestation and other adventures. A terrifying encounter with a black mamba, running away into the bush, hunting for game for the school's meat supply, a narrow escape from lionesses, Boy Scout camp-outs, and a forbidden romance during the central character's coming-of-age, combine in a kaleidoscope of never-to-be-repeated experiences, recounted with passion and, at times, delightful humour.